Deuteronomy 21:6
in Deuteronomy 21Then all the elders of the city nearest the victim shall wash their hands by the stream over the heifer whose neck has been broken,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And all the elders of that city, who are nearest unto the slain man, shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley;
KJV
And all the elders of that city, that are next unto the slain man, shall wash their hands over the heifer that is beheaded in the valley:
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This verse in Deuteronomy 21
Commentary
5 notes on this verseShall wash their hands over the heifer - Washing the hands, in reference to such a subject as this, was a rite anciently used to signify that the persons thus washing were innocent of the crime in question. It was probably from the Jews that Pilate learned this symbolical method of expressing his innocence.
This site's exposition
Then all the elders of the city nearest the victim shall wash their hands
on Deuteronomy 21:6-9
The elders wash their hands over the heifer and declare, “Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it”. At Matthew 27:24 Pilate washes his hands before the crowd, which Matthew Henry notes was the words without the case.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And all the elders of that city that are next unto the slain man,.... The whole court of judicature belonging to it, all the magistracy of it; even though there were an hundred of them, Maimonides (x) says: shall wash their hands over the heifer that is beheaded in the valley: in token of their innocence, and this they did not only for themselves, but for the whole city, being the representatives of it; see Psa 26:
6 , I will wash my hands in innocency; but if Pilate had any eye to it ( Matt. xxvii. 24 ) he wretchedly misapplied it when he condemned Christ, knowing him to be innocent, and yet acquitted himself from the guilt of innocent blood. Protestatio non valet contra factum--Protestations are of no avail when contradicted by fact.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
According to Jewish writers, the Sanhedrin, taking charge of such a case, sent a deputation to examine the neighborhood. They reported to the nearest town to the spot where the body was found. An order was then issued by their supreme authority to the elders or magistrates of that town, to provide the heifer at the civic expense and go through the appointed ceremonial.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְכֹ֗ל | vekhol | and all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| זִקְנֵי֙ | ziknei | [the] elders of | H2205 → | 178 times |
| הָעִ֣יר | hair | the city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| הַהִ֔וא | hahiv' | <the> that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| הַקְּרֹבִ֖ים | hakerovim | <the> near | H7138 → | 77 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הֶחָלָ֑ל | hechalal | the [one] slain | H2491 → | 94 times |
| יִרְחֲצוּ֙ | yirchatzu | they will wash | H7364 → | |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יְדֵיהֶ֔ם | yedeihem | hands their | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | over | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הָעֶגְלָ֖ה | haeglah | the heifer | H5697 → | 14 times |
| הָעֲרוּפָ֥ה | haarufah | <the> broken necked | H6202 → | |
| בַנָּֽחַל׃ | vanachal | in the wadi | H5158 → | 141 times |
וְכֹ֗לand all
vekholH3605 →5413 times
זִקְנֵי֙[the] elders of
zikneiH2205 →178 times
הָעִ֣ירthe city
hairH5892 →1090 times
הַהִ֔וא<the> that
hahiv'H1931 →1879 times
הַקְּרֹבִ֖ים<the> near
hakerovimH7138 →77 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הֶחָלָ֑לthe [one] slain
hechalalH2491 →94 times
יִרְחֲצוּ֙they will wash
yirchatzuH7364 →
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יְדֵיהֶ֔םhands their
yedeihemH3027 →1618 times
עַל־over
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הָעֶגְלָ֖הthe heifer
haeglahH5697 →14 times
הָעֲרוּפָ֥ה<the> broken necked
haarufahH6202 →
בַנָּֽחַל׃in the wadi
vanachalH5158 →141 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 19:12Who can discern his own errors? Cleanse me from my hidden faults.
it leads to
- Psalms 90:8
You have set our iniquities before You, our secret sins in the light of Your presence.
- Psalms 139:23–24
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns.
- Job 6:24
Teach me, and I will be silent. Help me understand how I have erred.
- Jeremiah 17:9
The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?
- Psalms 40:12
For evils without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me, so that I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart has failed within me.
- Psalms 90:8
Through
Psalms 73:13Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure; in innocence I have washed my hands.
it leads to
- Psalms 26:6
I wash my hands in innocence that I may go about Your altar, O LORD,
- Job 21:15
Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him, and what would we gain if we pray to Him?’
- Psalms 26:6
Through
Psalms 26:6I wash my hands in innocence that I may go about Your altar, O LORD,
it leads to
- Psalms 73:13
Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure; in innocence I have washed my hands.
- Psalms 73:13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies13
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.